China exports surge in first two months of the year despite Trump tariffs
China's exports surged in the first two months of this year despite trade tensions with the US, BBC reported.
Official figures show exports jumped by more than 20% in January and February, which is almost three times the rate predicted by economists. It puts the country on track to top the record-breaking annual trade surplus it saw in 2025.
The announcement comes as US President Donald Trump is expected to visit China in early April to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, according to BBC.
MPs reject call for under-16s social media ban, backing more flexible powers
MPs have rejected an Australia-style ban on social media for under-16s, and have instead backed flexible ministerial powers, BBC reported.
A ban on sites like Tiktok, Instagram, and Snapchat was brought in for children in Australia at the end of last year -- the first country to impose a ban -- and similar plans were backed by peers in the House of Lords in January.
Supporters include actor Hugh Grant, but critics such as children's charity the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) warned of young people being driven to dark corners of the internet as a result, according to BBC.
France to deploy almost dozen warships, mulls Hormuz mission, Macron says
France is deploying about a dozen naval vessels, including its aircraft ‌carrier strike group, to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and potentially the Strait of Hormuz as part of defensive support to allies threatened by the conflict in the Middle East, Reuters reported.
Speaking in Cyprus before visiting the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which arrived this weekend in the eastern Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron sought to reassure his Cypriot counterpart after drones were intercepted heading towards the island last week.
"When Cyprus is attacked, then Europe is attacked," Macron said after meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos, according to Reuters.
Trump says war could be over soon, as Iran rallies behind new hardline leader
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday predicted the war in the Middle East could be over soon, even as Iran's hardliners staged a show of loyalty to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a sign that it was not prepared to back down any time soon, Reuters reported.
The conflicting signals sent markets on a rollercoaster, with oil prices surging and stock markets nosediving before swinging in the other direction after Trump's comments and reports of a possible ease in sanctions on Russian energy.
Khamenei, 56, a Shi'ite cleric with a power base among the security forces and their vast business empire, has been declared unacceptable by Trump, who has demanded Iran's unconditional surrender, according to Reuters.
